PUT THE FUN BETWEEN YOUR LEGS

i frickin’ love my boyfriend. last time he visited he bought a canvas
and brushes and did this painting for me as a little surprise.

this is ida. 

she’s the kind of person that turns her phone to silent mode when she’s having a coffee with you. who says yes, sure! to things like would you like to bicycle to linköping with me?? (270 km) with just a few days notice (i know cos i asked her once).  you can barely believe she’s born and raised in a big city.

and she’s one of those who doesn’t schedule her free time. cos then its not free anymore. (i think if she’d been a scheduleholic, she probably would answer her phone straight away and probably would have had to say no to that trip). still she seem to do LOTS of things, always.

i really like this, cos it means i could meet up with her today with very short notice. she just got back from a bicycle trip up to lofoten, (north of norway) and you can read about the crazy journey here (its in swedish but don’t worry if you dont manage the language, there are lots of photos)

so, i thought i’d dig out some cheezy ida-pics from when we did that trip!
like shots on a misty field in a late afternoon sun. here it goes!

here she is! NISHIKI Cross Road, put toghether by the awesome dudes at Sportson Södermalm’s new store.

on the back she’s carrying the high heels i bought on ellie’s advice (an exact copy of what she was wearing on her feet, yay)

this is me, presenting the “outfit of the day”… or maybe not.

… might aswell give away a smile as i was surely happy. the road back didn’t start easily. It was late afternoon so i didn’t want to ride the whole way. But SJ, the major train company in sweden, doesn’t allow bicycles on their trains. its a truly bummer (especially as most other slow trains allow it in Europe, c’mon!) i was still giving it a shot, as the train was almost empty and i was only going one

station anyway (to märsta), but nah, someone announced in the speakers that “bicycles are NOT allowed on this train”(that was to me, ah) - so i had to step off (after a very bitter controllant had told me off!)

so there i was, back on the platform again, with a ticket i cudnt use??

big thanks tho to the super nice train driver who let my bicycle stay in the locomotive!’in märsta, he carried my bicycle over the rail and onto the platform so i would get it! in every situation there are great people, that is the lesson to learn.

when i arrived to märsta i was praised by a dude in the street who was so amazed over that i’d stepped off in märsta to bike to uppsala - when i could just take the train all the way. he kept repeating how stoked he was and that i always would get free coffee in the café he works in. (if you’re reading this, sorry for not coming by yet, i’ve been so busy!) “so! are you really going to BIKE?????? wow… why????”

the distance were talking about is 40 km, but he was still totally stoked.

the answer to the why:

it’s just so nice to feel the breeze and the sun and to stop and look at the things that happens while ure driving by or sitting on a train stuck behind glass, such as a horse baby having fun in the sunny afternoon mud!

and 2 hours later… we we’re HOME!!

hey hey hey!

last weekend i took the bus to stockholm to get my brand new bicycle!

(yep, this is me and one of my bicycle bags)

it was a great day. the bus driver called himself “the captain of this ship”
and the seats looked like those adjustable leather american arm chairs that
were popular in the 90’s. i didn’t mind.

one hour later: stockholm. while i was waiting for my friend ellie to turn up
i saw this little team coming up the hill. check it out…

look at that cute little happy dog!!! honestly, i didn’t notice the dog
until i was editing the photo.

and after that little caravan had passed by, there she was, ellie!!

to be continued…

Sorry for being so lame with updating!

Today is a big day. I’m up to search for a new soulmate. It’s not easy to find one. Especially since you always compare everyone with the previous one, the one that was p-e-r-f-e-c-t.

Ofcourse I’m talking of buying a new bike.

And when it comes to bicycles, it’s contrary to people: It’s harder when you know what you want. But also similarities. You will get what you’re looking for.

Is it a pretty and stylish single speed bike you want, that works smooth when the road is flat - but won’t take you over that hill? That won’t break down basically cos it doesn’t have any gear? That won’t carry your belongings?

Or is it the stabile, smooth running gentleman that comes in 5 different colours, will keep you up straight and bring you to work and to friends, and maybe takes you out on small countryside adventures in the summer time?

I want a reliable soulmate, able to take me across a continent If it had to. I’m talking about racer handlebars, disk breaks and 24 gears. Someone who’s willing to cross the Pyrinées with 20 kg luggage, and loves to roll down the hills. Someone who is willing to challenge the ordinary life.

Luckily I’ve found that man. Now I just need to find that bike.

this was in a package outside my door this friday! i’m featuring as
bike trend expert in swedish magazine “amelia vår”…

a little summary of what i said:

“to bike is so much smarter than to go by car, especially in a big city. it’s more social and spontanous, you don’t get stuck in traffic, you don’t need to search for a parking space; it’s so flexible you can get to places that car drivers only dream of”

“many people think you have to dress differently, but it’s all about attitude. in copenhagen and amsterdam, bicyclists wear dresses and high heels.”

i’m mentioning the fixie hype in big cities (not least among hipsters in stockholm!), the
variety of bikes to choose from plus some more awesomeness like:

• you can easily get the exercise ur heart needs. the body doesnt know if you’re in a joggingdress or not, training is training.
• biking is fast. if u bike in a speed of 15-20 kmph, u easily do 5 km in 15-20 minutes.
• biking is the best way avoid the city chaos; queues, parking problems and fees (and the metro/bus rush) and there are no emissions.
• you get fit. your physical age is 10 years younger than someone in your age that doesn’t commute by bike.
• bicycling reduce the risk of diabetes with 30%, the risk of cardio vascular diseases are reduced by 50%, and it also can reduce your stress by half.

The magazine promotes the electrical bicycle - which might be great for some people.
its green and easy to get around with too. However with a normal push bike, i’d say u can still get to work without being sweaty. just get to work 5 min earlier for god’s sake.
The more you use your bicycle muscles, the healthier and happier your heart will be.

but most important of all: PUT THE FUN BETWEEN YOUR LEGS!!
(can’t believe they didn’t put that as the title of the article… he he)